


To Find a Coven

by SleepingDragons



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, F/F, Getting Together, Magical Realism, Mind Control, Pre-Relationship, Roommates, its really more like a very mild suggestion, small amounts of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:29:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24869920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepingDragons/pseuds/SleepingDragons
Summary: Ladies, is it gay to start a coven with your roommates?
Relationships: Feferi Peixes/Vriska Serket, Rose Lalonde/Feferi Peixes, Rose Lalonde/Vriska Serket, Rose Lalonde/Vriska Serket/Feferi Peixes
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13
Collections: Homestuck Polyswap 2020 - Derse





	To Find a Coven

**Author's Note:**

  * For [auxanges](https://archiveofourown.org/users/auxanges/gifts).



> I hope you like it!

If Rose had to describe her new apartment in one word, it would be cramped. Her mother might have called it cozy, but no, the proper word was cramped. Fortunately, another suitable word would be affordable. And if she wanted to avoid hearing her mother’s opinions, affordable really should be the operative word.  


Cramped was still the most accurate.  


She supposed it wasn’t really the apartment’s fault. The living room would be spacious for a college student if not for the fifty gallon freshwater aquarium taking up one wall. Or the terrarium housing a frighteningly large orb weaver named Mindfang. Or the overflowing bookshelf. And that was not even to mention the plants. Most of which were somewhere in the living room, taking advantage of the larger windows, but Rose knew even more were in Feferi’s room. To be fair to her roommates, they were hardly the only source of clutter in the apartment. There were more than a few knitting projects in various stages of completion scattered around the common area, as well as stacks of books stuffed with bookmarks and sticky notes. One of which she just tripped on. Wonderful. ….She should probably pick those up.  


There was a jangle of keys coming from outside the front door; someone must be home, and struggling with the lock quite a bit, apparently. Heading over to let them in, the smell of sea salt and rain washed over her. Not far behind is the tang of metal and the idea of sunlight glinting off something shiny, accompanied by the tingling sensation Rose had come to associate with magic. Sure enough, Feferi’s blinding smile greeted her at the door, with a smirking Vriska just behind her.  


“Thanks! I couldn’t quite get the key to turn,” Feferi said.  


“I swear next time I’ll skip the key,” Vriska said, pulling a set of lock picks from her bag, twirling them on her finger a few times before stowing them away again.  


“That’s hardly necessary,” Rose said.  


“No, but it’s fun.”  


“Until the neighbors think you’re trying to break in,” Rose countered.  


“It’s my apartment!” Vriska said.  


“Is it considered breaking and entering if you don’t break anything? She’d just be unlocking the door,” Feferi wondered.  


“It’s my apartment!”  


“Yes, we know, but that’s not the point here,” Rose countered  


“How is it not the point? I live here!”  


“Anyway,” Feferi said, reaching into her bag. “I got you something!” She pulled out a thick, hardcover tome and handed it to Rose. Fae and Other Folklore. The book was new, but with a textured cover that Rose couldn’t stop running her fingers over. The edges of the pages were ragged, to give the impression of a handbound book. “Is this a special edition?” Rose asked, raising an eyebrow.  


Feferi nodded excitedly. “Open it!”  


She did, landing on the cover page. Looping curves of a cursive signature were scrawled over the page, but Rose’s eyes were immediately drawn to the sigil. It was for protection, drawing on the power of the moon and the sea, and impeccably done. She drew her finger along it’s lines, and felt a small thrum of magic. The author was well known in the paranormal community, gaining both fame and infamy. Fame for their acclaimed research, infamy for sharing even a portion of it with people of a much more mundane sort. Flipping through the book and skimming the pages, Rose found that much of it appeared accurate. It might be true that this particular collection featured nothing that couldn’t be found in other folklore books, but the author had gone to the trouble of sorting through the distorted tales for facts. Not that the average customer would be able to tell the difference.  


The only question remained, was Feferi an average customer? She had a magical signature, yes, but so did anyone with an ounce of magical blood. What Rose couldn’t be sure of, was if her roommate was aware of it or not. Was this gift simply because she knew Rose was interested in the occult? Or was it meant to signal her own knowledge of the world alongside the mundane? Life would be undoubtedly simpler if Rose could just ask, but that was unthinkable. If it turned out Feferi was unaware of her latent magical talents, Rose would be responsible for bringing her into the greater community, as well as any emotional fall out such a revelation could cause. But if she was aware, asking would reveal Rose’s own uncertainties, and that was unacceptable. There were no good ways to go about this.  


Not to mention the same problem extended to Vriska as well. How on Earth she had managed to end up rooming with not one but two witches through random placement was beyond her. The fact she wasn’t even certain that either knew what they were was just the final straw. Surely, by now she should have been able to figure it out. But despite their almost overpowering signatures, she’d never actually seen either perform any sort of magic. Well, unless they were both running a low level charm spell constantly, which would explain a great deal actually. 

If there was one thing Rose hated about having roommates, it was the dishes. They were continuous, piling up the moment she turned her back on them. Of course, that was true even when she lived alone, but the rate had tripled, and it was tiring. She stared at the sink, glaring death at every single plate, cup and cutlery. There was even a pot covered in dried sauce and melted cheese. She really needed to figure out a cleaning spell… Not that she could use it in front of Vriska or Feferi, but that was hardly the point.  


Speaking of Vriska, Rose was pretty sure it was meant to be her turn to do the dishes today. And yet she had every feeling they wouldn’t get done, if the way Vriska was casually sprawled out over the couch, looking like she was on the edge of sleep, gave any indication. It would probably just be easier to get them done herself, rather than trying to get Vriska to do them. It wouldn’t really take that much time.  


No, it was Vriska’s turn. They had discussed this. Feferi had even put together a chore chart, proudly displayed on the fridge. But really, was it worth waking her up? There weren’t actually that many dishes. It would be simpler to do them herself. It wasn’t as if Vriska had been slacking off before this. She had put in aaaaaaaall that work yesterday when they had been cleaning the living room.  


Wait. That wasn’t- What?  


“Vriska, I’d appreciate it if you would stop trying to manipulate my thoughts. It’s considered rude.”  


Vriska cracked an eye open. “You noticed that, then?”  


“Yes. It was rather obvious. I’m not normally inclined to volunteer to do dishes, even within my own mind.” She paused. “Do you frequently try to meddle with my thoughts?”  


Vriska sat up, abandoning all pretenses of sleep. “Nah. I just really didn’t want to do the dishes.” Vriska shuddered in disgust. “I don’t know what Feferi was cooking, but that pot is so gross.”  


“I’ll let you use my rubber gloves if you never try that again,” Rose said.  


“Deal,” Vriska said, rising up from the couch and offering her hand out to Rose to shake. She took it, then nearly dropped it when the contact nearly produced sparks. A coven bond. Or the beginnings of one at least.  


“What the hell?” Vriska pulled back and looked at her hand in confusion.  


“That… was unexpected. I really didn’t anticipate finding a coven this early.” It was ridiculous. What was the point of visions and clairvoyance if things like this could still surprise her?  


“We’re not a - I mean, you’re great and all, but just… what?” Vriska shook her head. “Can you even have a coven with just two people?”  


“I believe the requirement is three.”  


“So that means….”  


Rose nodded. “Feferi, most likely.”  


“She doesn’t even know she’s a witch!” Vriska yelled, throwing her arms in the air.  


“Really? She doesn’t know?” Rose asked.  


“We would have seen something by now,” Vriska insisted.  


“You didn’t notice me,” Rose reminded her. “And I didn’t notice you until you so rudely tried to foist the dishes on me.” She should probably be more annoyed about that than she was, but that was a problem for another day.  


Vriska groaned. “One of us would have noticed!”  


“Are you sure?”  


“Yes! I don’t know! She doesn’t make sense!”  


“Regardless, you’re still doing the dishes.”  


“Ugh!” She glared at the horrible pot, then turned back to Rose. “You wouldn’t happen to have any cleaning spells, would you?”  


“Unfortunately, no. I do have these, though.” She tossed her the rubber gloves.  


“Thanks,” Vriska said, putting them on and turning on the water.  


Rose leaned on the counter overlooking the sink. “So, I’m great?”  


Vriska flushed. “I- you- Just don’t let it go to your head.”

It had been two weeks. Two weeks of watching Feferi like a hawk, and they still couldn’t tell. Every time they’d become convinced that she didn’t know, that she somehow had that powerful of a signature and didn’t realize it, she would do something that would throw them into doubt again.  


Like buying Vriska a fancy knife that could almost be considered an athame, with a silver blade and protective runes carved into the hilt. But that fell under the same uncertainty as the book had; there were too many shops that catered as much to nonmagical people in it for the aesthetic as they did to actual witches. Putting an offering of milk and honey out on their patio the night of the full moon could be a sign, but it could just as easily be Feferi being her adorably quirky self.  


Feferi, of course, preened under the attention. She caught Vriska staring once, only to pull her into a discussion on fashion that ended with Vriska accidentally agreeing she had gorgeous legs, and immediately turning bright red. Rose was barely spared the same fate, if only because she was a bit better at spying. She wasn’t immune to the flirting, however.  


“C’mon, if she knew what she was doing, she’d be showering us in sparkles and rainbow bubbles constantly,” Vriska said.  


“Perhaps,” Rose began, only to be hit with a sudden sense of foreboding. Not quite a vision, but definitely a warning. ...Was she shaking? No, everything else was. Glassware rattled in the cabinets, and the bookshelves began to shake, knocking loose several books that landed in crumpled heaps. Earthquake. A relatively mild one, but strong enough to cause some damage.  


“Shit!” Vriska cried, lunging toward the standing lamp , now unbalanced, and, concerningly, on a collision course with the fish tank. She almost made it. Almost. It crashed into the glass, cracks quickly spreading outward from the site of impact. They watched, horrified, as the damaged tank succumbed to the pressure. The glass shattered. Fifty gallons of water poured out, along with several unfortunate fish, now splashing helplessly on the floor.  


“Get back!” Rose grabbed Vriska around the waist with one arm and pulled her back from the flood, flinging her other arm out, hand glowing gold. The shards of broken glass stopped midair, before moving backwards, back into place on the fish tank. Of course, there was still water soaking into the carpet, and fish flopping around, gasping for breath. The tremors had stopped, but the damage was done.  


“She’ll kill us if we let them die,” Rose said, trying to work out what could be done.  


“Or worse, cry,” Vriska agreed.  


Both girls launched into action, headed to the kitchen, pulling down the large mixing bowls, pots, anything big enough. They filled them with water from the sink before rushing back into the living room.  


“They’re all slimy,” Vriska whined, grabbing at fish and trying to shove them into a bowl without hurting them. A few, apparently suicidal ones, jumped out of the bowl in a panic. Rose barely managed to catch them in the spaghetti pot.  


“Ungrateful bastards,” she muttered. “I am terrible at necromancy, please just stay in the water.”  


“Maybe they’d freak out less in a larger tank?” Vriska ventured, eyeing a particularly skittish fish.  


“Bathtub?” Rose asked.  


Vriska shrugged. “Why not?”  


Fish safely escorted to the bathtub, Rose grabbed her phone, intending to check up on her brother, only to see several missed texts.  


TG: how’s the world’s tiniest coven?  
TG: seriously i know that quake was pretty minor but everything ok?  
TT: we hardly count as a coven at this point, brother dear.  
TT: but in short, there are fish in my bathtub, water is soaking into my carpet, and we are never getting our deposit back.  
TG: what the fuck even happened?  
TT: my lamp viciously attacked the fish tank.  
TG: well shit.  
TG: can’t you just magic up the water?  
TG: no reason to have fishy carpet  
TT: sadly, I do not have a spell for that. Water magic is not my specialty, and liquids are far too finicky for basic telekinesis.  
TT: my carpet may forever smell of fish.  
TG: too bad Feferi isn’t home she’d go all katara on it  
TT: Though she likely has magical abilities, there’s no real reason to believe she’s a waterbender, Dave.  
TG: except for the fact she has a giant fish tank  
TT: Plenty of people have fish tanks.  
TG: but imagine if someone broke in  
TG: they’d be all put your hands up  
TG: and she’d just wave her arms and wham! 50 gallons of fish piss flying at them  
TT: If anyone’s breaking in, it’s Vriska after forgetting her keys again  
TG: right can’t drown the other girlfriend  
TT: Agreed. Annoying as she can be, she has started to grow on me, and I’d much prefer she didn’t perish under gallons of fish excrement.

She was so invested in her conversation with Dave that she didn’t notice the front door had opened until she heard Feferi’s gasp of horror.  


“What happened?”  


“They’re okay!” Vriska blurted, turning from the open terrarium, where she had been checking on Mindfang. “We put them in the bathtub.” She looked sheepish, suddenly, a far cry from her usual cocky confidence. Of course Feferi usually inspired a break in composure, but this was more. “I know tap water isn’t exactly good for them, but it’s better than suffocating.”  


“Absolutely. But you still haven’t explained what happened. It was the quake, right?”  


Rose nodded. “My lamp got knocked over and hit the fish tank. I was able to pick up the glass, but there’s not much I can do about… this.” She gestured at the giant, smelly puddle, grateful that they were on the ground floor at least.  


“Oh, that’s not a problem,” Feferi said, smiling brightly. “Everyone’s safe, right?”  


“Yes, but… not a problem? This could make the room smell for months, not to mention the water damage.”  


Feferi just laughed. “Don’t worry about it.” She held out her hands, palms down over the puddle, a look of concentration on her face. Water rose up from the carpet, as if trying to meet her hands. She raised her hands further, drawing the water into a column, then directing it to flow through the air like a river, ending up in the kitchen sink. “Can’t really put it back into the tank, it’s too dirty.”  


Rose moved a foot over where the puddle was, finding the carpet bone dry.  


“What the hell?! You knew?” Vriska yelled.  


“Knew what?” Feferi asked, looking puzzled.  


“We’ve been trying to stealthily determine if you were aware of your powers,” Rose explained.  


“I thought everyone knew!” She laughed, a somehow musical sound that had Rose smiling, even though she really should be embarrassed. Vriska joins in, and soon enough the trio of witches were doubled over with laughter.  


When they eventually calmed down, Feferi shot them a flirty smile. “As long as we’re talking about things I thought were obvious, you two do you know I’ve been flirting with you, right?”  


“We, I mean, I at least, hoped that was the case,” Rose stuttered.  


“Definitely figured that out,” Vriska added.  


Feferi squealed, before pulling the two girls into a hug, an arm around each. An almost electric sensation flowed through them, gradually dying down into a warm buzz, the newly created coven bond settling into place.

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, I have more ideas than I can fit in the story, given the time constraints, so I'm really tempted to write up a few bonus scenes. Maybe I'll make this a series?


End file.
